1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the detection of nucleic acids, the electronic and optical detection of nucleic acids, nucleic acid sequencing reactions, and nucleic acid sequencing.
2. Background Information
Genetic information in living organisms is contained in very long polymeric molecules known as nucleic acids. Typical nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Naturally occurring DNA and RNA molecules are generally composed of four different chemical building blocks called nucleotides which are in turn made up of a sugar (deoxyribose or ribose, respectively), phosphoric acid, and one of five bases, adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T) or uracil (U). The human genome contains approximately three billion base pairs and an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 genes. A genome is all the genetic material in a cell's chromosomes. DNA sequence information can be used to determine multiple characteristics of an individual as well as the presence of and or susceptibility to many common diseases, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia. Further, knowledge of an individual's genome provides an opportunity to personalize medical treatments since, for example, certain drugs are (or may be) only or most effective in individuals having a specific genetic makeup. The effectiveness of newly discovered drugs can also be mapped out based on genetics. As a result of genetic information, time wasted in an ineffective treatment and side effects from treatment(s) can be avoided for individuals whose genetic make up indicates that they will not benefit from a treatment. Determination of the entire three billion nucleotide sequence of the human genome has provided a foundation for identifying the genetic basis of diseases. The first determination of the entire sequence of the human genome required years to accomplish. The need for nucleic acid sequence information also exists in research, environmental protection, food safety, biodefense, and clinical applications, such as for example, pathogen detection, i.e., the detection of the presence or absence of pathogens or their genetic variants.
Thus, because DNA sequencing is an important technology for applications in bioscience, such as, for example, the analysis of genetic information content for an organism, tools that allow for faster and or more reliable sequence determination are valuable. Applications such as, for example, population-based biodiversity projects, disease detection, personalized medicine, prediction of effectiveness of drugs, and genotyping using single-nucleotide polymorphisms, stimulate the need for simple and robust methods for sequencing short lengths of nucleic acids (such as, for example, those containing 1-20 bases). Sequencing methods that provide increased accuracy and or robustness, decreased need for analysis sample, and or high throughput are valuable analytical and biomedical tools.
Additionally, molecular detection platforms that are miniaturized and manufacturable in high volumes provide access to affordable disease detection to many people in places and situations in which such access was not in the past possible. The availability of affordable molecular diagnostic devices reduces the cost of and improves the quality of healthcare available to society. Additionally, portable molecular detection devices have applications in security and hazard detection and remediation fields and offer the ability to immediately respond appropriately to a perceived security or accidental biological or chemical hazard.